Mommypalooza

Being green = economically unsound?

Over the past five years or so, I've become increasingly more conscious of green-ifying my entire lifestyle.  I bring my own bags to the grocery store, am more inclined to purchase things made from recycled materials, we recycle at home, and I try and buy used whenever possible. 

One of the things that I've recently started to think about is the long-term domino effect that all of this earth-friendliness may be causing.  I seriously think that if many of us have shifted our lifestyles in a way that we truly are consuming less, it has undoubtedly played a huge part in the unravelling of our economic sytem.

I mean, think about it.  If people are buying used off Craigslist and from consignment stores; if they're buying used cars instead of new; if they're making things by hand and crafting more – all of these things could have a huge impact on the overall consumption in this country. 

Am I rethinking my buying decisions and advocating for buying new just to save this economy?  Absolutely not.  The only thing I can say is that somebody better start buying new or this country will continue at the pace it has been – which of course would be bad.

So what do ya'll think?  Have you noticed a drop in your family's overall "new" consumption?  Do you think if we all are experiencing this that it does indeed have an impact on the fact that more companies are closing their facilites or downsizing?  How can we fix our country in this crisis while still keeping in line with our Save the Earth mentality?  ♥

 

2 responses to “Being green = economically unsound?”

  1. Kathleen Schott Avatar
    Kathleen Schott

    I disagree with the “being green” has had a huge effect on our current economic state. This country has become very greedy and people have been living way beyond their means. I purchased a New Camry the year I married 21 years ago, I still have that Camry. My husband drives it back and forth to work. We built a New home 17 years ago, we have no mortgage, because we worked and saved, took out a 15 year mortgage that on a two income family, one salary could and did at times pay for the monthly expenses..We have had our share of set backs, job losses and very huge salary decreases. But, we have survived, and if more would take responsibility for what they have or rather don’t have, this country would be way more better off. And it’s the lack of government regulation of outsourcing our jobs that has also been a major factor to this current bad economic mess…Just my spin on it all:))

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  2. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    I have not stopped buying new, and I feel guilty when I think of some of the steals I’ve found online or at garage sales. I have not toyed much with used items as gifts (regarding the past holiday season). I did buy some new untreated landscape timbers for a garden, bought seeds or plants for the foods I wanted to cultivate, and bought metal stakes and plastic webbing to create a compost bin for my earthy side. In wasteful Karen mode, we bought a new TV this last year, multiple games for the wii, and decorative items for the house both new and used, which all took gas to get to purchase these items. My husband, and probably my father, too, were both hoping gas would stay over $4/gal to give corporate America a reason to bring their production back to America, but we’ve been digging the lower gas prices for a few months now. I guess in summary, I will do what I want while trying to be eco-friendly, but it probably won’t have enough impact to create a better economy if we are earth-friendly, some businesses thrive on their ability to market how earth-friendly they are. I do not ever expect the world to go back to self-sustaining/hunter/gatherer types; that would devastate the corporations and economy.

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